Rosemary gets some news.
Rosemary reveals that she is remaining in Florida with her husband; and she gets some news about her old friend, Stephanie Rendell. Also, Erica Harper gets into an argument with Cara Niewoehner over her harassment of Joanna; and Dylan as well as his stepmom, Wendy place flowers on Alex's grave in this episode of Harpers Falls: New Beginnings. Scene One: A cemetery in Brookline. Dylan Harper and his stepmother, Wendy, are standing at the grave of Dylan's former partner, Alex Corwin. Tears are sliding down his face as he looks at the simple grave stone. WENDY: You don't have to do this if you don't want to, honey. DYLAN: I need to do this, Mom. If I don't, I will never heal. WENDY: Do you want me nearby? DYLAN: I would appreciate that, Mom. WENDY: I will be over here if you need me. DYLAN (placing the flowers): I am sorry, that these are plastic, Alex, because it's so cold outside, plastic can withstand the cold weather. I always swore that you weren't worth plastic flowers on the grave, and you were always worth it for fresh flowers. But sorry for the plastics, honey. The first Christmas without you. Hardest I had ever been through, but then again, Adam went through that, his first without his lover, his mom AND his adopted daughter. I so miss you, honey. But I am comforted that you were up there to greet Adam's lover, his mom and their adopted daughter. I know you four are caring for one another. I will always love you, Alex, like Adam will always love Aaron, but we know that you would want us to be happy, and we've been there for one another. I still have that teddy bear you had made for me that Mum brought when we went through your things. I've known it's been hard, but sweetie, I know you're not in any more pain; and neither is Adam's mom; or Aaron or their baby, Rebecca. Keep an eye on them, as they keep an eye on you. Rest well, my love. (Dylan drops to his knees in the snow and begins to sob. Wendy comes over to her stepson, and hugs him close, her own tears flowing.) WENDY: Let it out, honey, let it out. DYLAN: I miss him, Mom! I really miss him. WENDY: I know, sweetheart, and now you have to live for him, as you said. You and Adam have a long road ahead of you, and you can do it. I know you can. DYLAN: I am glad you married Dad, after my birth mom died. He needs you, as we need you. WENDY (smiling through her tears): Yes, my darling. I am glad I am in your family's life too. And I know you miss your mom, and I can't ever replace her. But I hope I can be there. DYLAN: You are, Mom, and never forget that. WENDY: Let's get you home, sweetie. (Wendy leads her stepson back to the waiting car. Dylan looks at the grave, and blows it a kiss. He knows that Alex will get it. Then he and his stepmom go to the car) Scene Two: Dylan's townhouse. Sheila and Audra are waiting for Dylan to get home. AUDRA: When will he be back? SHEILA: Dyl and Aunt Wendy went to Brookline. That was where they had Alex buried. After Libby ruined the funeral, they had planned to have him buried in the Harper mausoleum. But since Libby ruined that, Uncle Michael had him buried in one of the best cemeteries in Brookline. AUDRA: That does make sense. (The cousins see the car with Dylan and Wendy coming into Louisburg Square.) SHEILA: How are you, Dylan? DYLAN: I am fine, Sheila. Is Adam around? AUDRA: He's upstairs. Are you all right? DYLAN: I am fine, Audra. I think I am on the road to healing. SHEILA: That is good. (Enter: Adam) ADAM: Dylan, are you all right? (Dylan embraces Adam tightly. Adam returns it, seeing the tears falling) DYLAN: I am now. Now that you are here. ADAM: And I will always be there, baby. (Enter a worried Audra and Sheila) SHEILA: Why is he crying? AUDRA: What happened? DYLAN: Guys, I finally think I can begin closure. While I will always miss Alex; and as much as Adam will miss those HE lost, we know we're together. (Sheila and Audra come over and embrace Dylan and Adam) Scene Three: A few houses up from Dylan's house. Erica is outside arguing with Cara. CARA: When are you EVER going to get it through your head that I am in Joanna's life, because she IS my sister! ERICA: But I am her mother! CARA: Adopted mother! You adopted her when she was a child! ERICA: And I LOVE her! CARA: No you don't! If you did love her, you wouldn't let her not have contact with me. ERICA: She is MINE! (Enter a furious Joanna) JOANNA: I am of age now, Mother, and I will say who I want in my life and who not. ERICA: But I love you! JOANNA: Cara is my blood sister. Cara was looking for me all these years. ERICA: But..... CARA: But NOTHING! Our parents are dead! Joanna is the only relative I have left! JOANNA: AND.....because she IS my sister, the Harpers have taken her in too! ERICA: You're crazy! CARA: Not at all! Joanna is sane and the family agreed to take me in! ERICA: Who told ME that?! (Enter Patricia) PATRICIA: I was the one who suggested it! (Erica storms off) JOANNA: Thank you, Aunt Patricia. PATRICIA: It's all right, girls. You want to go to lunch with me? CARA: I will have to call my service and have them answer calls until I get back. PATRICIA: OK. (After Cara calls her service, the three go to lunch) Scene Four: Top of the Hub, a high-class restaurant in the Prudential Center. Steven Bennett and Samantha Harper are eating an early dinner. SAMANTHA: So, how do you manage? STEVEN: Manage what? SAMANTHA: Dealing with everything. Why did you end up coming here in the first place? STEVEN: Erica and her deceitfulness. SAMANTHA: You knew that none of our family even KNEW she was married to your brother, Nigel? STEVEN: We all knew. Why Nigel had her around when he was married to Sharmaine, I don't know. SAMANTHA: How is Sharmaine doing? STEVEN: She's taken to Boston well. SAMANTHA: She's a very nice woman. STEVEN: She really was more of a sister in-law than Erica ever was or ever could be. SAMANTHA: I know, Steven. Sometimes, it's hard to believe she is my sister. STEVEN: What I want to know is how you all manage to deal with her? SAMANTHA: Mother was always harder on her than Dad was. I mean, Mike and Michelle had one another; so did Aaron and Jason; and even Veronica and I were close although she and I weren't twins. STEVEN: Two sets of twins? That is impressive. SAMANTHA: I know, it's astonishing. And even Anyssa, though she is adopted, is carrying the twins tradition! STEVEN: You're kidding! She's carrying twins?! SAMANTHA: Yep. Impressive. STEVEN: What are you up for, for dinner? SAMANTHA: I think I'm up for some good old Filet Mignon. STEVEN: Man, a woman after my own heart. (It is clear that Samantha and Steven are falling for one another) Scene Five: West Palm Beach, Florida. Rosemary is on the phone with her stepmother, Wendy. ROSEMARY: That is great news, Mom. I know it's not gonna be easy, since we'll not be there. Did everyone get my packages for Christmas? WENDY (split screen): Yes, we all did. The clothes were lovely, darling. ROSEMARY: Glad you all like it. How is Dylan? I knew this would be his first Christmas without Alex. WENDY: He's taking it slowly but surely. He's got his times, but I think he and Adam are great for one another. I understand how both of them are, though. Adam lost his lover, mother and adopted daughter; and Dylan lost Alex, but I think they are better together. They are helpful to one another, and to them that is important. ROSEMARY: Maybe he and Adam should make a visit to West Palm sometime. WENDY: I think they would like that. But things are busy here. Dylan working at the company; and also helping Adam at his new restaurant. He's busy. ROSEMARY: You knew that Mark and I are living here permanently, right? WENDY: I kind of knew. Mark is now in the bank president's job, right? ROSEMARY: We're gonna be getting used to the warmth and sunshine down here for a while. You are always welcome you know. WENDY: So true, honey. I will let your dad know what is going on. ROSEMARY: Thanks, Mom. Tell everyone Hi. WENDY: I will sweetie. Love you. ROSEMARY: Love you too, Mom. (Enter Mark, who hugs Rosemary.) MARK: Any regrets? ROSEMARY: None. Dad is contacting a storage company to bring the rest of our belongings here. MARK: I talked with Aunt Judith. She is sending some other things here too. ROSEMARY: That is good. I have to get at this mail. What a lot of it. Aunt Velda sent our mail here en masse. MARK: Velda never does anything by half measures. ROSEMARY (looking over the letters): That was always how Aunt Vel was. MARK: Why do you all call her Aunt Vel? I've never figured that out, even when we lived in Smythewood. ROSEMARY: She's really Anyssa's blood aunt. She and her late mother were sisters. But since she has been with our family for so many years, we call her Aunt Vel. She insisted on it. MARK: Ah, ok. ROSEMARY: Oh my God! Mark, a letter from Stephanie! MARK: Stephanie Rendell? How is she doing? ROSEMARY: She's doing fine. She's moving. She found a place to live in Concordia, Maryland. MARK: Concordia, Maryland? Wait a second, where is that? ROSEMARY: Between Baltimore and Annapolis. Almost midway between the two. MARK: Isn't that where......? ROSEMARY: Yes, it is, Mark. Apparently, she went to the University of Maryland in College Park. We grew up together, she went to Harper Academy at the same time I did. MARK: So, why is she moving back to Concordia? ROSEMARY: She's always been more attuned living in Maryland; and I think it's good she's going back to where she sees as home. MARK: Well, I hope she will be fine. ROSEMARY: I am sure she will. (Cut to: I-95 between Baltimore and Washington, DC. Riding in a moving truck, next to a handsome driver is Stephanie Rendell, in her last ever Harpers Falls: New Beginnings appearance. She looks ready to move on to her new life. The truck is exiting the interstate headed towards her new home in Concordia. DRIVER: Why Concordia? Do you know people there? STEPHANIE: Kind of, my past is really there. And it's home to me. Maryland has always been home to me. So, I am here, and I will be fine. DRIVER: That will work. Works for me. (Stephanie relaxes as the moving truck goes down to her new home in Concordia, Maryland. The scene fades) Category:Episodes